Book Reviews and Other Literary Delights

A Guide for Murdered Children

Thank you to Penguin Group Blue Rider Press for providing me with a copy of Sarah Sparrow’s novel, A Guide for Murdered Children, in exchange for an honest review.

PLOT-Willow Wade is a recovering alcoholic and former cop trying to get his life back together. His friend and current husband to Wade’s ex-wife, convinces him to take a job in a cold-case unit in Detroit. Wade, who has psychic abilities, soon realizes that something very unusual is happening with regard to the cold cases of children who have been murdered. The murdered children are coming back for revenge.

LIKE– A Guide for Murdered Childrenis oozing with creativity and different from any novel that I’ve previously read. I love the concept that Sparrow has created: murdered children are able to live again through the bodies of recently deceased adults, adults who have died in a manner where no one else knows that they have died. For example, a woman is jogging and collapses, but she rises from the dead to resume her life with this murdered child inside of her and no one else knows. The murdered child must work with the newly dead adult to exact revenge on the child’s murderer before either body can have peace.

When the child takes over the adult’s body, the adult’s behavior changes. If the adult had been in a relationship, they are now no longer interested in being intimate with their partner. To the child inside of them, they can’t grasp sexual intimacy. It’s gross! The child may cause them to eat funny, such as one character who begins to favor gummy bears. I loved this creative element, where the adult and child are in equal shares trying to live through this one body. There is a poignant moment where it is mentioned that the children will experience sensations through the adult body, that they never had a chance to live long enough to do.

I love the concept of having the children meet at an AA type meeting, where they are guided through the process of being inside an adult and their goal of finding their murder. There were many plots twists that I did not anticipate. I don’t normally take issue with scary stories, but I found myself unable to read A Guide for Murdered Children, when I was home alone. It’s rather disturbing and unsettling. Even writing this review now (while I’m home alone at night) is giving me the chills.

DISLIKE– There were times where I couldn’t keep track of the large volume of characters and subplots. It made it a story that was an effort to read, rather than one that I could get lost inside. A Guide for Murdered Children has a lot going on and I’m not sure that it is all necessary. The pacing is uneven, sometimes breakneck speed and other times very sluggish.

RECOMMEND– Yes. A Guide for Murdered Childrenis likely going to be very unique from any story that you’ve previously read and Sparrow’s abundance of creativity shines above the pacing problems. This is a great pick for people who enjoy detective stories and don’t mind if it’s on the unsettling, creepy side.

Thanks for taking the time to comment. My advice would be to read it as much as possible over a few days. I read it in small chunks over a month and the amount of characters/subplots, made it difficult to remember. It’s not the type of story that is easy to pick up again. It’s also definitely not going to be everyone’s cup of tea, which I think explains the mixed reviews. It’s something different for sure! I look forward to reading your review!